- Available from the Business plan.
- Activate the feature under Avatar → Account settings → Invoicing → Customer balances.
How does the feature work?
The basic logic of invoicing stays the same: for every booking or manual invoice, an invoice draft is created. Customer balances add an extra control level:- The invoice draft is assigned to an open customer balance. The decisive factor is the booking time (not the checkout time). If a service is configured so that billing only happens at the start of the booking, the line item lands in the later billing period.
- Customer balances can be kept per person or per company. When grouping by company, anny automatically assigns bookings based on the company name and, if available, a non-generic email domain.
- On the cutoff date (end of period + configured delay), all linked invoice drafts are consolidated into a collective invoice. The individual drafts stay linked for traceability.
- Maximum order amount for the balance: Prevents large individual orders from being billed only later.
- Threshold for automatic billing: Triggers a collective invoice as soon as a balance reaches a certain amount.
- Minimum amount: Pushes small remaining amounts into the next period.
- Only bookings created by admins or Community restriction: Defines who may book on a customer balance.
- Include subscription invoices: Shifts their payment time to the end of the billing period.
When do I use this?
- Several bookings within a period should be billed collectively instead of individually: Typical for coworking spaces or room rental with recurring bookings.
- Several employees of one company should end up on one invoice: Group balances by company so that all bookings are consolidated.
- You want to allow trusted customers to be billed later: Restrict the function to certain communities.
- Additional costs, manual invoices or subscription invoices should go into a shared billing flow: Activate the respective options in the customer balance settings.
- Not suitable for: Scenarios where every booking must be billed finally and immediately. Here a classic individual invoice process is the better choice.
Relationship with other features
Settings & options
Path: Avatar (top right) → Account settings → Invoicing → Customer balances
Further relevant areas:
- Invoices: Track all invoice drafts, balances and consolidations
- Customers → Companies: View open balances at company level
- Checkout: Customers see the option “Book on customer balance” when the permission and service settings allow it
What changes for customers?
- Customers do not necessarily receive a final individual invoice immediately. Their line items are collected on the balance.
- Depending on the configuration, customers see an option in the checkout to book on the customer balance.
- Confirmation emails transparently show which billing period the line item belongs to and when the collective invoice is created.
- Owners and admins of a company account see open balances under Home.
Practical examples
Coworking space with company balance, community access and subscription invoices
Coworking space with company balance, community access and subscription invoices
A coworking space wants to bill all of a company’s bookings and subscriptions collectively each month. Only members of the “Members” community may book on a customer balance.
1
Activate and configure customer balances
Open Avatar → Account settings → Invoicing → Customer balances. Activate the feature, set the billing period to monthly and the delay to 3 days after the end of the period.
2
Grouping and subscription inclusion
Activate Group balances by company and Include subscription invoices.
3
Restrict permissions
Restrict the function to the Members community and set a maximum order amount of 250 €.
4
Check the result
Under Customers → Companies → e.g. “Figma”, check that employees’ bookings come together in the open customer balance. At the start of the following month, the collective invoice is created automatically.
City administration with collective invoice without online payment
City administration with collective invoice without online payment
A city administration wants to bill several room bookings collectively each month, but does not use online payment.
1
Activate customer balances
Open Avatar → Account settings → Invoicing → Customer balances. Choose monthly as the billing period and set automatic billing to 5 days after the end of the period.
2
Group by company
Activate Group balances by company so that bookings from different employees end up on one shared collective invoice.
3
Store a billing email
Go to Customers → Companies → “City of Sampletown” and store a central billing email so that the collective invoice is sent to the right place.
4
Check the result
In the company view, check that invoice drafts are assigned to the open customer balance. At the start of the following month, the consolidated invoice is created automatically and sent to the stored email.
FAQ
Do I need active online payment for customer balances?
Do I need active online payment for customer balances?
No. Customer balances also work without online payment. Online payment is useful, however, if the later collective invoice should be charged automatically via a stored payment method.
When does a customer balance become a collective invoice?
When does a customer balance become a collective invoice?
At the end of the chosen billing period plus the configured delay. In addition, a collective invoice can be created earlier if you have set a threshold for automatic billing.
Does every booking in the customer balance get its own invoice number?
Does every booking in the customer balance get its own invoice number?
No. The final collective invoice is given the official invoice number. The individual invoice drafts stay linked for traceability, but are not separate final invoices.
Can I exclude individual resources from customer balances?
Can I exclude individual resources from customer balances?
Not directly through a resource setting. Control is done via the global customer balance settings, service payment settings, limits and permissions.
Who receives the collective invoice for a company balance?
Who receives the collective invoice for a company balance?
If a billing email is maintained for the company, the collective invoice goes there. If this is missing, it is sent to the person first linked to the company.
Troubleshooting
A booking does not land in the company balance
A booking does not land in the company balance
Check whether “Group balances by company” is active and whether the same company was used for the booking. Different company names or diverging email domains can cause anny to recognize separate companies.
A large booking is billed immediately instead of written to the balance
A large booking is billed immediately instead of written to the balance
This is expected behavior due to the configured maximum order amount or a threshold for automatic billing that has already been reached.
Small remaining amounts are not billed
Small remaining amounts are not billed
If a minimum amount is configured, very small open amounts are carried over into the next period until the minimum value is reached.
A subscription invoice is paid later than before
A subscription invoice is paid later than before
When subscription invoices are included in customer balances, payment shifts to the end of the billing period. This is not an error, but part of the collective invoice logic.
The collective invoice goes to the wrong person
The collective invoice goes to the wrong person
If no billing email is maintained at company level, the collective invoice is sent to the person assigned first. Always maintain a central billing email for company balances.